Transcript DSIE` 09 - Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto

Virtual Business Networks in
Developing Countries
Luís C. S. Barradas †
João José Pinto Ferreira ‡, ‡‡
[email protected]
[email protected]
† Departamento de Informática e Métodos Quantitativos
Escola Superior de Gestão e Tecnologia
Instituto Politécnico de Santarém
Portugal
DSIE’ 09
‡ Departamento de Engenharia Industrial e Gestão
Faculdade de Engenharia
Universidade do Porto
Portugal
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
‡ ‡ INESC Porto
Unidade de Inovação e Transferência de Tecnologia
Porto
Portugal
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Agenda
 Introduction
 Tourism Industry Value Chain
 Tourism Industry Support Network
 The Tourism Virtual Business Network Model
 Business Model of the Proposed Virtual Business Network
 Experimental Developments
 Global Architecture and Core Services
 Software components
 Security
 Testing and Results
 Conclusions and Future work
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
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Introduction

Internet and information technologies have changed the way people interact and
make business all over the world. (Not completely true)

The fast progress fostered by more dynamic economies has in fact been
contributing to widening the so-called digital divide between rich and poor

This is a fact for micro, small and medium enterprises located in remote
communities in Developing Countries, that face a number of obstacles and
difficulties due to their:

Family business structure;

Economical status;

Limited access to information;

Technological expertise;

…and poor communications infrastructures.
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
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Introduction
 This project addresses three tourism sub-sectors:
 Crafts;
 Eco- agro-tourism,
 and cultural heritage.
 This sectors are:
 Interdependent and complementary for a number of activities and practices
 Strongly linked to rural areas in Developing Countries
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
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Tourism Industry Value Chain
 Producers
 Hotels, Resorts, Agro-tourism Farms, Craftsmen, etc.
 Wholesale Dealers
 Tourism operators
 Retailers
 Travel Agencies
 Consumers
 Tourists
 Governmental entities and Official Organisms
 Coordinate and promote tourism destinies
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
‹#›
Tourism Industry Support Network
 Computer Reservation Systems
 Large Tourism producers and operators

The market for e-Tourism has
been growing quickly, but
dominated by large tourism
organizations…

…most of the micro, small and
medium enterprises of
Alternative Tourism, specialty
those located in remote
communities, stay out of this
restrict circle
 Global Distribution Systems
 Air transportation consortiums
 Digital Interactive Television Applications
 Tourism operators
 Internet based applications
 Tourism operators, Large Tourism
Producers, Travel Agencies
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
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Our approach to reduce the problem
 Provide small and medium enterprises with tools that enable them to:
 Have the opportunity to communicate and globally publish the diversity of their
touristic resources, through a clear explanatory and consistent way.
 Be present on an virtual business network that enables them to share their
touristic offers at a world wide level.
 Promote an integrated and locally grounded economy chain based on a strong
local identity, leveraging on local natural, human and cultural resources.
 The virtual business network should be able to build a “Network effect”
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
‹#›
The Tourism Virtual Business Network Model
 Requirements of New Approaches for Virtual Business Networks
Characteristics
Description
Products and services
Relative complex, bundled, and fast delivered products and
services
Value creation
Demand networks with quick connect and disconnect relationships
Coordination and control
Network orchestration with distributed control and decision making
Information sharing
Information sharing over and with network partners
Infrastructure
Network platform with networked business operating system
 Business Model for the Proposed Virtual Business Network based on a
distributed P2P e-marketplace
 Flexible platforms
 Highly Scalable
 Peers (small businesses) can form groups and create «business networks»
 Provide flexible and new forms or interactions
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
‹#›
The Tourism Virtual Business Network Model
 Business Model for the Proposed Virtual Business Network, based on a
distributed P2P e-marketplace model (a first approach )
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
‹#›
The Tourism Virtual Business Network Model
 A Tourism Virtual Business Network Model fostered by a distributed P2P emarketplace, with specialized peers.
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
‹#›
Experimental Developments
 Core P2P Technology
 JXTA - Set of XML based protocols for the development of heterogeneous P2P
networks
Search
Application
Broker
IM
Web Mirror
Presence
Publishing and Searching
P2P
Services
CMS
JXTA
Network
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Mirroring
Infrastructure
Interface
Enterprise
Application
Application
 Global Multi-layer Architecture
TCP/IP
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
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Experimental Developments
 Software components
Enterprise
Search
Application
Application
I
P
B
Main targets:
I
Main Targets:
• Producers
• Intermediaries
• Official organisms or non-profit
private entities
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Web Mirror
WM
P
Main Targets:
• Producers (Membership)
• Intermediaries (Membership)
• Consumer (Search)
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
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Experimental Developments
 Software components: Web Mirror
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009

Porto, February 5, 6 2009
Main functionalities

Local and P2P Search tool
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Membership tool

Mirror Service
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Experimental Developments
 Software components: Enterprise application
 Main functionalities
 Offer creation and editing tool
 Offer publishing management tool
 Business partners presence, look-up and management tools
 Instant Messaging tool
 Search tool
 Broker services
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
‹#›
Experimental Developments
 Software components: Search application
 Main functionalities
 Business partners presence, look-up and management tool
 Instant Messaging tool
 Search tool
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
‹#›
Experimental Developments
 Security
 Quite basic at the current status of the prototype
 Includes peer authentication on the network
 E-marketplace peers belong to a special Peer Group
 Logical segmentation of the P2P Network
 Communications and resource sharing are done in the group scope.
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
‹#›
Experimental Developments
 Testing and Results
 Testing Environment
 Semi-closed and laboratorial environment
 Main Focused in tasks of
 Sharing;
 Searching;
 and transferring tourism offers
 …as well the start of basic trading interactions
 Peer involved on the experimental marketplace
Application Type
DSIE’ 09
Number of running
instances
Location
Running Broker Service
Web Mirror
1
Inside Firewall
N/A
Enterprise App
6
Inside Firewall
Yes
Search App
13
Inside Firewall
N/A
Enterprise App
1
Internet
Yes
Search App
2
Internet
N/A
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
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Experimental Developments
 Testing and Results
 Users were involved in testing
 Charge testing methods used
 All the services and functionalities provided by the applications were tested
simultaneously, in order to simulate a real situation of the business network
operation.
 Operational results
 Good functional operation of the tested software applications and services
 Main drawbacks
 Internet located peers had some had some difficulties to communicate with the
firewalled peers.
 Taking a few seconds to complete connections
 Increase of the amount of network traffic
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
‹#›
Conclusions and Future work
 Typical e-marketplaces supporting technologies require some expertise,
powerful hardware resources and infrastructures, which carry on large
supporting costs.
 Promoting a virtual business network supported by a P2P based emarketplace, seems to be a good strategy to achieve the low costs and
create a network effect.
 From a technical perspective, the flexibility provided by the proposed
distributed P2P e-marketplace ensures the support for the sustained
growth of peer nodes in the network.
 Future work includes
 Improve security aspects
 Improve the way of connection with peers located on NAT/ firewalled LANS
DSIE’ 09
Doctoral Symposium on
Informatics Engineering 2009
Porto, February 5, 6 2009
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